With the publication in 1973 of Modernization and Bureaucratic-Authoritarianism: Studies in South American Politics, Guillermo O'Donnell initiated a new phase in the debate over the relationship between social change and politics in Latin America. In contrast to most of the political development literature of the 1950s and 1960s, O'Donnell argued that social and economic modernization in the context of delayed development is more likely to lead to authoritarianism than democracy. His analysis focused on the emergence of military regimes in Argentina and Brazil in the middle 1960s—regimes that he labeled “bureaucratic-authoritarian” to distinguish them from oligarchical and populist forms of authoritarian rule found in less modernized countries. O'Donnell's suggestion that an “elective affinity” exists between higher levels of modernization and the rise of bureaucratic-authoritarianism in South America anticipated the military takeovers of the 1970s in Chile, Uruguay, and Argentina. The timeliness of his argument, together with its broad theoretical implications, stimulated considerable discussion, which culminated in the recent publication of a volume devoted to the exploration of themes raised by O'Donnell.

There are two principal approaches to understanding social structure. One approach, exemplified by social class analysis, consists of postulating an ideal model of class positions and then mapping social reality onto this model. The result is a set of structural relationships that explain, or seem to explain, the positions taken by various social groups at different times. This approach is therefore also an interpretation of politics, in the sense that actions and positions are judged relevant or irrelevant to the extent that they match or fail to match the expected behavior of social classes according to the ideal model.

The 1970s witnessed an outpouring of research on the Andean cultural tradition sufficient to place Andean studies among the well-established regional subspecialties of anthropology. Among the historic factors converging to produce this abundance was the emergence of a generation of fieldworkers trained by ethnohistorians such as John Murra, John Rowe, Herman Trimborn, and R. T. Zuidema. Their understanding of historical and intellectual activity in past Andean communities made it possible, even in the heyday of development theories, to appreciate the modern Andean tradition as an active and creative rather than merely resistant presence. At the same time, events within the Andean republics called forth new interest in the indigenous tradition. In Peru the Velasco regime (1968–75), with its far-reaching intervention into rural institutions, received both support and criticism from those whose knowledge of the Quechua countryside seemed suddenly valuable. In Ecuador the post-1974 oil boom awakened hope for a more “integrated” national state, thereby provoking debate (as yet inconclusive) between pluralist and assimilationist approaches to the problems of the multiethnic highlands. In all the Andean countries regional and national research institutions with periodicals and monographs of their own took form. Generally outside universities, and sometimes with support from sectors of the Catholic Church increasingly open to the study of local belief, they produced distinctive schools of thought fruitfully different from the academic tradition proper. Regional meetings such as the Congresos del Hombre Andino indicated the coalescence of an Andean field of study across national boundaries. In some places, self-mobilization of Andean communities and experimentation with bilingual media and institutions raised hopes for a definition of the Andean situation from the Andean side, a definition not precast in terms familiar to the Hispanic-oriented outsider.

In Brazil, perhaps more than in any other Latin American nation, popular music has traditionally been a potent cultural force. It is probable, as P. M. Bardi, director of São Paulo's Museum of Art, has suggested, that “of all the arts, [music] is closest to the Brazilians' modes of feeling and expression.” Even such erudite composers as Carlos Gomes (1836–96), Alberto Nepomuceno (1864–1920), Camargo Guarnieri (1907–), Gilberto Mendes (1922–) and, above all, Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959), often found their inspiration in Brazilian folklore and the everyday lives of common people.

Government agencies in many countries are prolific publishers of information in a surprising variety of fields, reflecting their myriad activities, their economic and political interests, and the needs and interests of their constituents. Reports of agencies, transcriptions of congressional hearings, and agricultural extension bulletins are well-known examples, but government agencies as sources of reference materials—publications in a format designed to be consulted for specific pieces of information, rather than to be read from start to finish—are often overlooked.

This paper presents a tentative explanation of the 1979 Nicaraguan revolution using a “micro-political” model of political profit, governmental efficiency, and political stability applied to data on the history of Somoza's fall. The revolution is explained as the outcome of a loss of stability by a government that attempted to control a greater share of the resources of the nation than its capabilities to persuade and coerce the population would allow. The initial results of the model, though preliminary, permit us to raise some important questions about the future of Nicaragua's political economy.

Latin American historical research in France is limited, although interest is increasing. The evidence of this is readily apparent. For instance, the proposed book, Guide des sources de l'histoire de l'Amérique Latine conservées en France is still in draft and more than ten years behind schedule. An examination of articles on Latin America in French journals indicates the limited use of sources available in France. The National Archives receives only a few requests for archival searches, its files indicating only three such requests on the topic South America (Amérique du Sud). These include inqueries for materials on commerce between France and Latin America in the first half of the nineteenth century, sources for steamship packet-boats to America in the nineteenth century, and Anglo-French diplomatic relations with Latin America, 1836–48. There were no search requests for Brazil or Argentina, but six for Mexico. Yet archival sources of information about Latin America in France are abundant and provide materials not available elsewhere. This is particularly true for material on the former French colonies and on Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico.

AFSSAL was created in June 1978 for “the promotion of research in the social sciences on Latin America, the establishment of a link between public and private research organizations and social scientists who work on Latin America, and the representation of those organizations and researchers with regard to national and international institutions.” The creation of AFSSAL responded to the need of many researchers and academics in France who work at centers whose primary focus is not Latin America. Before 1978 there was no permanent structure for discussion and debate; neither was there a medium that would allow for the circulation of interdisciplinary information on research on Latin America undertaken in France. There was an obvious need to be able to examine together the possibilities for promoting interest in Latin America and developing the means available to social science researchers dedicated to the study of that region.

At the end of almost a year and a half of activities of the International Relations Program of IUPERJ, partially funded by The Ford Foundation, it is possible to identify qualitative as well as quantitative growth in these studies in Brazil, principally in the area of Rio de Janeiro. This growth is remarkable if we take into account, on the one hand, the few attempts at progress made during the decade of the seventies and, on the other hand, the expectation generated at the beginning of the program.